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Frequently Asked Questions

Information about NYU Construction Projects

The University reaches out to neighbors in a variety of ways, including community meetings, posted notices, and email notifications. NYU works internally to identify community members who may be affected by construction projects, but you can also add yourself to our site-specific lists by emailing community.affairs with your street address.

To reduce the amount of dust given off during demolition, walls and floors are sprayed with water immediately prior to work beginning. Contractors comply with OSHA's demolition requirements as well as additional dust control requirements put in place by NYU's Office of Construction Management.

NYU follows strict abatement protocols to ensure that any asbestos-containing materials are safely removed from construction sites. Our procedures begin with regulations set forth by the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, NY State Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and US Environmental Protection Agency, and go on to include additional, internally driven safety guides as well to minimize the dispersal of asbestos fibers.

segregating the building's ventilation system from the abatement work area

wetting the materials in order to prevent airborne fibers from circulating

placing wet asbestos debris in specially marked bags

carefully removing these bags from the abatement area

passing through a clean-up/decontamination area between the abatement area and non-abatement areas, where they must remove their protective clothing and shower before entering the clean zone. At no time will a worker exit the abatement area without properly decontaminating themselves.

The removal process then consists of washing the sealed debris bags and placing them into secondary containment bags, which are marked "Asbestos-Containing Materials." These secondary bags are placed in locked dumpsters outside of the construction site and transported to a secure landfill rated to accept asbestos waste.

Only the abatement contractors are allowed to enter the abatement area once the project begins. All of our abatement vendors are licensed, and all are vetted by the University. Asbestos abatement regulations require the University to hire a third-party firm to conduct continuous air testing for asbestos outside of the area while abatement is occurring, and to conduct clearance testing inside and outside of the work area after it has been properly cleaned. The area may be reoccupied only after successful clearance air monitoring is performed.

NYU follows lead removal protocols set forth by the Department of Environmental Protection, NY State Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and US Environmental Protection Agency.

Local Law 11 is a New York City Department of Buildings statute that requires facades inspections for buildings of six or more stories every five years. A certified architect or engineer determines whether potentially dangerous deterioration has occurred on a building's exterior faces, and then files recommendations with the DOB. The building owner then schedules the necessary facade work in a timely manner.